Sounding apparatus



March 11, 1930. B. R. sTEPHENsoN 1,749,928

'soUNDING APPARATUS Filed oct. '7, 1927 ArraP/Yfv v may be closed at any APatented Mar. v11, 193()` PATENToFFlcE BIRD R. STEPHENSON, F PONGA lGITY,

OKLAHOMA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO CONTINENTAL OIL COMPANY, 0F PONGA CITY, OKLAHOMA, A *COBPORA- TION 0F DELAWAB soUNnrNG APPARATUS Application led October 7, 1927. Serial No. 224,741.

lThis invention relates to sounding apparatus and is herein illustrated Vas embodied in a device for use in obtaining specimens of substances located at various depths in gas or oil wells.

It frequently becomes desirable, in the drilling or operation of a well, such, for example, as an oil or .gas well, to draw up specimens of the substances that are present within the well in order that these substances may be examined and analyzed to determine exactly their constituent parts, which is to say, whether they are composed of oil, water, or as, or a mixture of these. Furthermore, it

1s often advantageous to obtain specimens from diiierent depths within the well, and

Y accordingly, in order to accom lish this desirable result, the sounding evice should preferably be so constructed that it may be l lowered to a desired depth within a well and there manipulated to entrap a specimen of the substances existing at that depth.

With the foregoing coniderations in view,

the present invention has or an object thereof the provision of an improved sounding device arranged for quick and facile manipulation `at any depth within a well, and designed to prevent possible escape through leakage of specimens that are obtained during the operation of the device. j

A feature of the invention which aims toward the accomplishment of the above recited obj ect consists in the provision of a sounding device which may be lowered into a well to a desired depth and thereupon manipulated from a point located above the well toA obtain a specimen of the substances located within the well at the point to which the device has been lowered. In the illustrated embodi- 4 ment of theinvention the sounding device is secured to the lower extremity of a hollow shaft and is provided with valves which normally remain in an open position,

time by means of mechanism located within the hollow shaft.

Inas'much as the locality at which it may be desired to obtain specimens may bedisposed above or below the liquid level of the well, it is to be appreciated that a ldevice of the character under discussion should be but whichequally capable of procuring and retaining fluid specimens located beneath the fluid level, as well as gaseous specimens located above thefluid level. Accordingly another object of the invention consists in constructing a sounding device in sucha manner that it may be operated with equal ease and facility in either a'gascous or a liquid medium. Another feature of the invention, therefore, consistsrin equipping the sounding 'device with valves which may be seated with such accuracy and precision as to prevent escape from the soundlng device of any substances, no matter what their nature, which may be entrapped therein.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the valves are formed with knife edges and the valve seats are formed of a ductile substance, such, for example, as aluminum, to insure the knife edges seating properly when they occupy their closed positions.

Other features and objects ofthe invention will become apparent from a reading of the following specification in the light of the accompanying drawings,'in which, f Fig. 1 is an elevation view in section of a sounding device embodying the invention,

Fig. 2 is a plan view taken in section along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a view also similar to Fig. 2, but taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

As shown in the drawings, the reference numeral 1() indicates a. hollow shaft, or lowering rod, to the lower end of which there is rigidly secured a the sake of convenience, will hereinafter be 4referred to as a sounding bottle.

Grenerally speaking, the sounding bottle comprises a tubular body member having valve seats.12 and 14 located at the upper and lower extremities thereof. Valves 16 and 18 are arranged to cooperate rgspectively with the valve seats 12 and 14, and a compression spring 20 tends normally to maintain the valves in a closed position. A funnel-shaped entering spout 22 is attached to the lower end ofthe bottle and is provided with a screen covering 24 for preventin the entry into the bottle of sediment and otler foreign matter.

sounding `device which, for

The valve seats 12 and14are made of a dlictile material, such, for example, as aluminum, and the valves 16 and 18 are provided with knife edges 26 and 28 to cut into with the valve seats thereby sealing rup the interior of the bottle when the valvesocc'upy a'closed position.

telescopic engagement with a valve stem 32 1sion spring 20.

'-As illustrated, the valve 16 is provided with a hollow valve stem 30 which is arranged in threaded engagement with one another.

2o These sections, as'shown in Fig. 1, comprise a cap 31 and a coupling l34 between which there is positioned the valve seat 12; a tubular member36; and a'lower coupling 38 and a cap 40 between which there is located the 25 lower valve seat 14. By virtue of positioning'each valve seat between a cap and' coupling, the valve seat is held firmly in position and serves as a gasket to seat the joint between the cap and the coupling. lPorts 42 30 and-44 serve to permit entry of liquid and gaseous substances into the interior of the `sounding bottle and ports 46 permitl escape of the substances from the sounding device as it is being lowered into a well.

35 From so much ofthe description as has already been given, vit is apparent that as the f device is lowered into a well the gaseous or liquid substances located in the well pass through the spout 22 and into the interior of the sounding Vbottle through the ports 42 and 44 and escape through the upper ports 46 into the hollow shaft or lowering rod 10, which may conveniently be provided with openings through which final escape of the substances passing through the sounding bottle may be effected. Owing to the fact that the passage of the substances through the sounding bottle continues asv the latter is lowered into a well, it will be appreciated that the substances presentwithin the bottle are at all times typical of the substances surrounding the device,. andv hence if the i valves are closed -there will be entrapped vwithin the bottle a specimen of thel` 'exact substances surrounding the sealed sounding bottle. v y

As hereinbefore pointed out, the compression spring 20 tends'normally to maintainthe valves 16 and 18 in a closed position, and the following paragraphs will be devoted to a description of mechanism which is provided for holdingV the valves open during the lowering of the device into a well but operable to close thevalves instantaneously, as desired.v

A split collar 48 has each of its parts provided with one of a plurality of depending rods 50, the lower ends of which are arran ed to support rotary'wheels 52 and 54. securing device 56 herein illustrated in the form of a cord has one of its ends fixedly secured to a pin 58 extending from shaftlO and to overhang the end of the lever j l 64 opposite to that located beneath thelever 62. The lower end of the rod 68 is likewise bent at 72 to enter an opening formed in the vconical spout 22and to project beneath the lower end of an extension 74 formed on the lower. valve 18. An adjusting screw 76 is located in the bent extremity 72 of the arm 68 for engagement with the depending eX- tension of the valve 18.

In the operation of the device a messenger, indicated by the reference numeral 7 8 in Fig. 1, is allowed to slide down a cable 80 when the sounding device has been lowered to a desired depth within a well, and upon striking against the split collar 48, forces the rods 50 and the wheels 52 and 54 apart, thereby pulling the securing cord in such a manner as to pivot the lever 62 about its axis. Upon the lower extremity of the lever 62 moving out of engagement with the pivoted lever 64, the

latter is swung about its axis of pivot 66' by means of the compression spring 20, thereby permitting the rod 68 to drop downwardly to such an extent that the valve'18 is free to move into a closed position. Thus it will be seen that both of the valves 16 and 18 may be moved into rm engagement with the valve seats 12 and` 14 merely bythe act of releasing the messenger 78, and are held in their seated positions by means of the compression spring 20. y

It is to be observed that the valves and the vvalve-operating mechanism are set .in their open positions as the device is lowered into a well, and thereafter they are closed by means of the messenger to entrap within the device specimens of the substances located withink the well. 'By virtue of securing the cap 3l to the hollow shaft 10 in such a manner that it maybe removed therefrom, it will be seen is provided with the screen 24, it may be inserted within a well until the bottom of the spout comes in contact with the bottom of the Well and then hoisted to obtain specimens of the dirt or sand, etc., existing at the bottom of the Well.

While the invention has been described herein with particular reference to a sounding device for use in connection Iwith gas and oil Wells, it is to be appreciated that the invention contemplates employment in analogous or anizations and use in other similar fields.

avng thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

' A sounding apparatus comprising, in combination, a container, oppositely disposed openings formed Within the container, valves for closing the opposibely disposed openings, the stems of the valves being arranged in telescopic relation with each other, resilient means tending normally to close the valves,

and -means for maintaining the valves in an open position, the latter named means being operative from a point remote from the container to permit closing of the valves.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I l hereunto affix my signature.

BIRD R. STE-PHENSON 

